Tomorrow, October 16, is the Great Shakeout, that one day every year on which we have the opportunity to share communitywide the experience of practicing for the biggest disaster we are likely to face here in the Pacific Northwest: The Big Earthquake.

Our Prepare in a Year program helps you get ready for disasters, like large-scale earthquakes that isolate us from outside help for weeks or longer. By tackling one simple task per month, you can get your household in good shape by the end of a year. The task for September is to make sure you are prepared for three specific types of disaster: earthquake, wildfire, and tsunami.

The task for October is to prepare for earthquakes by gathering supplies, readying your household, and practicing what to do when the shaking starts.

We all know an earthquake will eventually hit the greater Seattle area. If that happens during the school day, the Bainbridge Prepares partnership - in conjunction with local child-centric organizations - has developed an islandwide child reunification plan.

It’s December and it’s raining cats and dogs and a few large farm animals as well. So what are you going to do to prepare for emergencies at such a time? Stay inside and look around! This is a good time to review everything you’ve done on this 12-month journey to prepare—and feel good about all that hard work. It’s also the time to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

Earthquake preparation involves knowing what to do when an earthquake starts and what to do when the shaking stops.